sarah warda ::

This show features award winning artist Sarah Warda's homage to the beauty that is Block Island.

Since her early years, Sarah, a Connecticut resident, enjoyed summers and holidays on the island while visiting her aunt, a long time year round resident.She has a deep rooted connection and love of the Island, which is evident in her work, Through careful observation her use of color and light as well as a personal visceral response, she is able to evoke a subtle and varied mood to her beloved Island subject.

Sarah's formal training began learning classical realism at The Lyme academy of Fine arts, The Art Students League of New York, as well as copying master works in museums throughout Europe. Since then she has found her own voice as an artist focusing on intimate and spiritual portrayals of the subjects she paints. Throughout her career she has shown extensively throughout the region including The Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, CT, The New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Mayor's Invitational art show in New Britain CT. Most recently she was chosen for a country wide competition to paint a 20' mural for the city of Hartford, CT.

Please Join Sarah at the gallery on Tuesday July 3 from 5-7 to view her collection of Block Island scenes, and enjoy some wine and appetizers too.

morgan macia ::

I was born and raised in southern Vermont. I blame this for my obsession with na- ture and landscapes. Growing up we had two channels on the TV dial (yes, dial), one was very fuzzy and had a lot of commercials. The other was PBS so naturally my favorite show is NOVA. My friends and family didn’t have much to do inside so we explored outside, a lot. Be it hiking, biking, swimming, skiing, or just laying in a field watching a meteor shower, we were outside.

I have always been in awe of the close to 72,000 Square miles of pure beauty in this part of the world we call New England. This is the reason that I am a photographer. I strive to capture the lure of the mountains, the draw of the forests, the quaint sounds of a small stream, the absolute awe of the ocean, the quietness of a small town after dark, and the sprawling cities that never seem to get any sleep.

Although saying that I wanted to be a photographer since I was in my teens, I got seri- ous about photography in my late 20’s. It was something that I new immediately would over- take my life. I got much more relaxed. Things seemed to move a little bit smoother around me. I started to pay attention to nature and everything that was moving without a human voice. People made fun of me for walking around with a camera constantly. I never minded as it was what I wanted.

You can find me now still in nature, somewhere between Rhode Island and Vermont or anywhere in New England for that matter. Probably doing what I have been doing since I was young. Exploring.

thea monje ::

To perennially exist between seasons is to live year-round on Block Island. As a local, growing up on-island has given me a respect for the impermanence of familiar spaces; this liminality is what is choose to focus on in my photographs. My showing at the Spring Street Gallery opens on Tuesday, July 17th, with an opening reception from 5 to 7pm. The show will be on display through the 22nd.

It took many different phases of art for me to finally land on photography. Drawing and painting were gratifying practices, but not immediately gratifying. When I discovered digital photography, I had finally found a type of art that accommodated the speed at which I like to work. This works well for me, because on Block Island, everything moves and changes quickly: timing is everything.

I photograph liminal places, those which are familiar to island locals. For example, the ferry is one of my favorite spaces, a well-acquainted with location which undergoes extreme change throughout the seasons. Another is the area around Sachem Pond, which seasonally reinvents itself through foliage, habitation, color, and purpose. In a place where everything is in a constant cycle of growing and fading, it is important to document moments that will disappear with the seasons or even at a moment’s notice.

I’ve chosen to visually confine myself over the years, having sold all my zoom lenses in favor of a single 50mm lens. This forces me to foster a close relationship with space and my immediate surroundings, knowing that I cannot zoom in or out to capture a wider or narrower field of vision. I am constantly running around to get the shot that I want, which adds an element of fun to the whole process. The constraints of shooting at 50mm have never dissuaded me.